General Managers Sing Same Draft Song

Warner Hessler

April 21, 1990|By WARNER HESSLER Columnist

Three years ago, former Washington Redskins' General Manager Bobby Beathard appeared before the media to explain his surprise selection of cornerback Brian Davis in the second round of the 1987 college draft.

"We looked at the board and Brian was the best available athlete available," he said.

This Sunday afternoon, new GM Charley Casserly will make his first pick in the draft, also in the second round, and later he will say he took the best athlete available.

Every year, in every National Football League camp, general managers say they drafted the best available athlete. Few will admit that they might have gambled, or reached into a lower grouping of talent, to select a player for a position that needs help.

In Beathard's mind, he was telling the truth when he said Davis, who appears to be a drafting mistake, was the best ahtlete available. Davis was taken with the 30th selection in the draft, and Beathard had him rated among the top 30.

Casserly will enter Sunday's draft in the second round with the 46th overall selection, and he, too, will tell the truth when he says he took a player rated among the top 46.

But there is no single definition for "best available athlete." To better understand the differences, it's important to understand the anatomy of a draft and how the talent board is compiled.

Talent hunting is a 12-month job. When the 1990 draft ends Monday night, NFL scouts and GMs will begin making a list of college juniors and seniors who will be available in 1991.

Scouts will criss-cross the country in September and October, watching games, collecting film, jotting down vital statistics, and filing detailed reports on all the players on the list.

In November and December, scouts will go back and file second opinions. Approximately 200 athletes will participate in individual workouts after the season.

In March, scouts, coaches and general managers, armed with mounds of paper and film, will begin the task of grading players and placing the names of those who are worthy of being drafted on a velcro board.

The talent order could change on a daily basis during the six weeks leading to the draft.

All other players are placed on a "ready list." They are the guys teams try to sign to free agent contracts if they go undrafted.

The year Davis was taken, the Redskins needed cornerbacks. Beathard attached a little extra weight to the top five cornerbacks in the draft and Davis, who was considered a mid-second round pick by most rating services, was 27th on his list.

When Washington drafted, Davis was the best available athlete on Beathard's board.

Casserly insists he isn't going to gamble, reach, or attach extra weight to a player based on team needs. He said he subscribes to the "best available athlete" theory in its purist form.

"If there's a player who stands alone in a higher classification, we'll always take him," Casserly said. "Otherwise, we'll select the best athlete available, regardless of position."

But that doesn't mean he will blindly take the first undrafted player on the board. If the first 45 players are gone, Casserly won't necessarily take No. 46.

"We'll pull the names of, say, the top four available players on the board and discuss them," he said. "Sure, a player's position might have something to do with our decision, but we won't drop in quality to fill a need.

"The names we pull off the board and discuss will be the names of players we have graded as being equal. We will then try to settle on the guy we feel best fits the Washington system."

While the coaches and scouts argue the merits of the top players available, Casserly may be on the phone with GMs from Cleveland and the Los Angeles Rams.

Would Cleveland accept that second-round pick for linebacker Clay Matthews?

Would the Rams, who signed Plan B running back Curt Warner with the understanding that starter Greg Bell would be traded before training camp, trade Bell for that pick?

Is the best college player available better than Matthews or Bell?

However it turns out, Casserly will say he got "the best player available."

All coaches and general managers say that. And, in most cases, they can justify it.